


Starbound

by staroamer



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Fluff, Healing, Langst, M/M, Romance, Sad Lance (Voltron), They are older, but keith is there to help, lotor never had his breakdown, pretend season 8 never happened, they're in love, this is really self indulgent and short but oh well
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-27
Updated: 2019-02-27
Packaged: 2019-11-06 08:40:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,247
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17936501
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/staroamer/pseuds/staroamer
Summary: "What are you doing out here?"Opening his eyes, Lance takes in the sound ofhim. His soft breathing, the grit of his voice, the way it's several octaves deeper than when he'd been eighteen, all encompassing the boy who has left the safety of the ship to find Lance like this."Drifting."* in which Lance is now 23, still in space and sad. But Keith is there and he is Lance's home *





	Starbound

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry for any mistakes, I'm sleep deprived but had an itching to write this. Enjoy <3

 

There is something peaceful about the void.

Lance floats in it now, partaking in what he has invented and dubbed, _Drifting_. Not too original but it serves to explain the act in one simple word. Laying on his back, he lets his body succumb to open space. A lone cord connects his suit to the warship behind him, making sure he doesn't float off into infinity.

Even if, occasionally, he wishes he could.

The only thing he hears is his own breathing and sometimes, through the open channel in his helmet, the hissing and groaning of the ship itself. There is peace in this too, even if it isn't the same kind that he would find on Earth. There are no waves lapping at his feet or wind in his hair, urging him to take a walk around the crowded streets of Havana or Southern Florida. There is no desert sunrise, breaking over the dunes and into his window at the Garrison.

There is just him and the stars, the burning balls of gas that flicker in their brilliance.

Sighing, he stretches an arm to the side and pretends he can wrap the closest star in his grasp. He sees the light shine through the space between his fingers, filtered like sunlight through green leaves. It's been five years since he's been home and for all he knows it could be even longer on Earth. But he knows his body has changed: where once there was smooth flesh, now there are deep scars. The burn on his back spreads to his upper neck and the gash on his abdomen from a particularly brutal stab is still warped and shades lighter than his brown pigment. All over him, spread like constellations, are testaments to his losses and his triumphs. He runs a hand on the abdominal scar now, invisible because of his suit.

It's hard not to feel all kinds of emotions out here. Though the war is over and Lotor is working to restore order, Lance feels as if he's farther from home than ever. In a way, he supposes he is. The galaxy they're in has only four planets and a dying sun, the golden light distant but glowing at his back. He's shrouded in that light, a lone shadow, a figure with no destination. Lance gulps and squeezes his eyes shut, urging the tears to stay away.

There is no use in crying now.

Older he may be, somewhere between war and survival, he's still a boy. A kid taken out of orbit and into the clutches of the universe, into the hands of aliens who either want him dead or want him crowned.

He prefers neither.

"What are you doing out here?"

Opening his eyes, Lance takes in the sound of _him_. His soft breathing, the grit of his voice, the way it's several octaves deeper than when he'd been eighteen, all encompassing the boy who has left the safety of the ship to find Lance like this.

"Drifting."

Keith raises a brow, his hair left in a low bun that threatens to come undone within his helmet. His hair has grown long and stubble usually frequents his jaw and neck, though it never works to cover the scar on his cheek. He looks at Lance with eyes that have been through every stage of grief and every level of love, apparent by the way he instantly holds out a hand for Lance to grab. Instead of the cord, he always offers to be Lance's tether.

Their fingers lace and lock and Lance smiles when they drift closer, legs twisting to keep from drifting apart.

"Do you remember the first time we did this?" Lance asks, voice quiet.

Keith tilts his head, eyes flitting about Lance's face. He glances at his lips and his nose, the crest of his cheeks and the swoop of his eyelashes. Lance, as always, hopes he likes what he sees.

"I remember you dragging me out to see the passing comets." Keith recalls, running a hand against Lance's side, right above his ribs. "You didn't care that I was talking to Kolivan or that I had blood on my hands, that I just returned from a mission. And I followed you even though I was exhausted. And I really wanted to kiss you."

Lance flushes, heat spreading all around his body. He gulps and nods, "I wanted to kiss you too."

"You looked like you wanted to get on a comet and fly away." Keith chuckles at Lance's snort, eyes soft.

They fall into an easy silence, one that has been learned and delved into over countless days and nights. Floating like this, it used to be an excuse for Lance to hold onto Keith. To touch him with no fear of embarrassment or overstepping bounds simply because Keith held onto him the same. Now, they fit together like they were always meant to.

_In my culture, we called two in love Starbound. It means you were formed from the same star dust, that you are bound to each other over the countless cycles of your life._

Lance smiles at the memory of Allura's soft words, of her excitement for Lance to ask Keith to stay by his side forever. As they use their jet packs to help them return to the ship, Lance hurries to unlatch the cord on his back and remove his helmet the moment the air is deemed safe. Oxygen levels high, he lets his skin breathe and tugs at Keith's hand immediately, the ring on his left finger glinting blue in the low light.

Keith meets him halfway, their lips brushing together with relief. It's hard for Lance to part from him on nights like this, when everyone else is asleep and their trek is still so far and he feels a bit lost; a bit lonely in this foreign galaxy.

But as Keith trails his hand into Lance's hair and brushes his fingertips along his cheek, teeth nipping at his bottom lip, he feels that crevice of dark emotion slowly crack to reveal bright light. Or, rather, Keith's light. It's as brilliant as a supernova, as vibrant as all the sunrises on all the planets in the cosmos. And Lance revels in it, gasping into the kiss as his breath hitches and his eyes water, though this time for a softer reason. A lovelier reason.

And Keith doesn't ask why he feels damp drops on his cheeks or his lips, doesn't even back away to look like he used to. He just presses closer, as if he could take in all of Lance's misgivings and turn them into something beautiful.

The ship turns sun-side and Lance knows if he were to look outside now, he'd probably be blinded. But he doesn't care. All he cares about is the man beneath his palms, kissing him softly enough to send flutters into the pit of his stomach. As if they were once again young and broken and wildly free, Lance feels Keith whisper against his lips with as much conviction as he's ever had.

" _I love you._ " He whispers, lips brushing against Lance's, fingers holding tight to his space suit. " _I love you._ "

And though Lance is light years away from home and he knows that he may never return, he'll be okay in the end. So long as Keith always holds him like this, whispers to him like this, he will  _never_ be alone.

**Author's Note:**

> hi, i needed to write something healing so here ya go. I hope you liked it. Please leave a comment and let me know what you think ♡ 
> 
> Tumblr: [staroamer](https://staroamer.tumblr.com)


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